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CLUBS’ MATCH REPORTS - ( January-
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17-
Durham Wildcats (26, 45, 62) 90
Edmonton Storm (16, 36, 57) 80
After their six-
Visitors Edmonton were themselves on a good run, and not out of title contention
as they had hauled themselves up to third place, but the Wildcats established an
early lead, with Paul Elderkin contributed eight points (beginning and ending with
a “3” in a 10-
A brace from Stephen Jones helped to extend the margin to 20-
The Wildcats threatened to break away on the restart as a “trey” apiece from Scott
Morton and Michael Davies took them 32-
The introduction of Notis Chalkidis gave the Storm something different to think about,
and the Greek big man helped himself to six points in the 9-
The visitors came strong again in the third, with Odulaja and Leon Bernard proving
virtually unstoppable, and alarm bells were ringing when a 2-
The visitors had effectively closed down the area under the basket to Wildcats’ attacks, but they could do nothing about the Mark Elderkin “3” that put Durham back on track, and another basket from the captain restored an eight point differential to steady Wildcats’ nerves.
With both sides playing intense defence there was no further score from open play
in the final three minutes, but the Storm outscored their hosts 3-
This was the time for one team to take game by the scruff of the neck, and the Wildcats
did just that. Chalkidis, Jones and Paul Elderkin hit the first six points of the
final stanza, to restore a double digit lead, and a 13-
Still the Storm were not blown out, and five points from the impressive Odulaja helped
them to trim the deficit to nine. It narrowed further, to six, as Paul Elderkin fouled
out, with a game-
A basket “and one” by Jones going into the final minute settled any remaining nerves,
and once Odulaja fouled out Edmonton had lost their most potent attacking threat.
The visitors were forced to foul to stop the clock, and Durham kept their cool to
hit five of six from the stripe down the stretch, to secure the prospect of back-
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 29; Stephen Jones 16; Scott Morton 15 [+8 assists] ; Notis
Chalkidis 11; Mark Elderkin 7; Michael Davies 6; Anthony Trigg 4; Rafa Vilar-
Storm: Tayo Odulaja 27; Pierre Henry-
Topcats stay in Title Race after Double Success
After a win-
On Saturday Brixton travelled to Birmingham to play to the Birmingham A’s, who are
a likely match up given current league positions for the Topcats when the play-
The Birmingham A’s were looking to avenge their two points defeat at the Brixton
Rec back in December and started strongly with the first quarter staying a close
encounter with both teams trading baskets. Influential point guard Paul Mundy-
The second quarter saw Birmingham posting a 5-
Birmingham again started the third quarter fastest going on an immediate 8-
Petkus opened the final quarter for Brixton with a 3 pointer and Brixton were never
behind again Antonio taking the ball to the rim and Garcia working strongly inside,
the lead extended to 79-
Head Coach Andy Powlesland said; “we made hard work of today, losing Mundy-
Top scorers for Brixton were Antonio 22, Petkus 19 and Saayeng with 12. Hesson lead Birmingham with 21 points.
Sunday saw a home match against Medway Park Crusaders from Kent, a team who was on a good run of form having beaten both Edmonton Storm and Westminster Warriors in recent weeks.
Brixton were unable to suit up Paul Mundy-
Brixton came out firing and raced to a 20-
The teams traded baskets for much of the second quarter, with Brixton’s scorers varying
and the bulk of Kent’s points coming from Smith. The half time score was 36-
The second half started with 4 quick points from Armand Anebo and 2 from Antonio,
with Kent answering with back to back 3’s, their first of 5 scored in this quarter.
Kent began to extend the lead and Brixton were having matchup problems without the
defensive intensity and leadership of Mundy-
The fourth quarter opened with Antonio going to the rim twice and getting fouled.
He made two of the resulting foul shots and then scored an impressive 3 point play.
This was immediately followed by an Anebo 3 pointer, and 8 quick points from James
Miller, including two 3’s to bring Brixton back to within 1 point at 72-
Head Coach Andy Powlesland said; “James Miller came off the bench and gave us a spark when we needed it in the fourth quarter. He played out of position at point and did a great job. Antonio played hard as always and led us offensively, and when I asked Garcia to defend a bigger man he did the job. We dug out a result today and we are still in a promotion spot with 4 games to play.”
Top Scorers for Brixton were Antonio 21, Anebo 15, Lewis 11, and Miller 10. For Kent Smith led all scorers with 25 points
Giants scrape win over Northumbria
Mansfield strengthened their grip on a top 4 placing with an 88 – 83 win over Team Northumbria on Saturday in their penultimate home game of the season.
Whilst the game always appeared to be going the way of the Giants a spirited finish to the game from Northumbria made for a few twitchy moments at the end.
It was the Giants who started the game the brighter with the impressive Mathew Martin putting the first points on the scoreboard. Martin started the game alongside Dan Watts, Paul Kelly, Tom Griffiths and Michal Ciesla as Mansfield opted to go with a smaller, quicker line up than in recent matches.
Both teams failed to establish a grip on the game in the first period though, and
when the buzzer sounded it was the visitors who held what was to be their only lead
of the game by the narrow margin of 16-
The second quarter was an equally close affair and every time Mansfield threatened to open up a gap Northumbria, who were superbly marshalled by Welsh international Chris Pearce, pegged the Giants back.
Mansfield did do enough to take a 2 point lead into the locker room at the half though
and must have been confident of going on to take their 3rd win of the season against
their north-
Whatever was said at half time certainly hit the mark for Mansfield as they clicked up a gear in the 3rd quarter. Defensively they maintained their good start to the game but it was the freedom that they were scoring which was giving Northumbria most headaches. Good movement and slick passing meant that they were getting good looks at the basket on almost every offence.
The gap at the final break had been stretched to 13 points at 63-
Modzelewski is a wily veteran who certainly knows how to wind his opponents up. His off the ball antics soon started to get under the skin of numerous Giants players and his disruption tactics were going to plan.
It also got to Giants sideline coach Steve Baxter who was called for a technical
foul for his remonstrations towards an official after a series of referring decisions
went against the home team. All the while Northumbria were slowly chipping away
at the lead and an 11-
After being so tight at the defensive end in the first 3 quarters Mansfield released the shackles to allow Northumbria to score 33 points in the final quarter. Time and time again, poor boxing out from the Giants meant the visitors snatched the offensive rebound and get another look at the basket. Luckily Northumbria only connected with 5 of their 33 attempts from the 3 point line otherwise the result could easily have swung the other way.
It was at the free throw line that the Giants secured victory. 13 of their last 17 points came from the charity stripe and if they had not missed 9 more free throws in this time the final margin could have been a lot healthier. The final score was Mansfield 88 Northumbria 83.
Mathew Martin was unstoppable as he led the Giants with 27 points and 11 rebounds.
Pole Michal Ciesla continued his recent streak of creating easy chances for his
team-
The manner of the victory meant little in the end. What was important was that they won. Next week the Giants visit Edmonton who sit directly above them in 3rd place. It is a crunch game as both teams have lost 5 games but Edmonton have played a game more than Mansfield.
Giants scorers: Martin 27, Ciesla 12, Passmore 11, Elland 11, Watts 8, Kelly 7, Richards 7, Griffiths 5.
Crusaders dismantle Westminster
Medway Park Crusaders (17, 32, 64) 89 Smith 39; Betts 12; Dimandja 10
Westminster Warriors (16, 26, 50) 69 Baker 13; Williams 12; Drungys 9
Full stats: http://www.fibalivestats.com/matches/123/01/51/38/97IQWbSqPc9Y/
The Medway Park Crusaders put on a dominant defensive performance as they beat league
number four Westminster Warriors 89-
Westminster started the game in a zone defence and Crusaders struggled early as the
outside shots weren’t falling and they were kept scoreless for the first three and
a half minutes of the game. They managed to stay in the game, though, as Westminster
struggled with the Crusaders solid man-
More than three minutes in Kalil Irving finally connected on an outside shot, to
reduce the Westminster lead to 3-
For the first five minutes of the second quarter the lead changed several times as
neither team could establish a commanding lead. Five minutes into the quarter Westminster’s
Inacio made a free throw to give the guests a 23-
In the third quarter the game pace picked up considerably. Sam Betts started the
scoring for Crusaders with a three pointer, building the lead to nine, 35-
Brad Smith wasn’t about to let all his hard work in the first half go to waste, though,
as he scored twice, which seemed to focus the home team again. Harris and Smith scored
and the lead was back up to ten, but Crusaders didn’t stop there. Three pointers
by Smith and Harris helped build the lead to 17 with a minute to go in the quarter,
though Westminster managed to get to 13 before the last quarter, 64-
Westminster started the scoring in the final quarter as Junior Williams hit a three
pointer, but over the next three minutes neither team was able to find the bottom
of the net. The deadlock was broken as Greg Currat hit a three pointer for Crusaders
to start a 12-
Westminster tried for the comeback, as Junior Williams tried to draw a foul on every
play, but they never got closer than 16, and Crusaders closed the game with a rare
Jeff Wadey three pointer for the final score of 89-
Poor weather prevents play
Mansfield’s crunch clash away to Brixton unfortunately succumbed to the freak weather this weekend.
As large parts of the country woke on Sunday to inches of snow, treacherous road conditions put paid to any hope the Giants had of travelling to the capital.
Coach Dan Richards commented ‘I was concerned that the game would be able to take place as soon as we saw the snow on Sunday. A number of the guys live in Sheffield and Doncaster and there were over 4 inches of snow there. Because it came unexpectedly some of the minor roads we travel on were just not safe. It might have been o.k. if we could have got to the M1 but when we checked the Met Office website they had issued severe weather warnings into the afternoon, and were advising people to only use their cars in essential circumstances. Therefore we had no choice really but to cancel the game.’
He added ‘It’s unfortunate because we were well prepared and have had a good week in training. Having to postpone this game probably means that we are going to have to rearrange to a weekend where we already have a game, which is not ideal.’
WILDCATS STAY ON COURSE
It was another good weekend for Durham Wildcats, as they won at Team Northumbria,
and saw one of their title-
The Wildcats succeeded in completing the league “double” over their near-
The Durham players showed their strong team spirit, however, to take their fourth victory of the season, in all competitions, over their local rivals, and to stay clear at the top of EBL Division 2.
Team Northumbria (22, 35, 49) 70
Durham Wildcats (22, 40, 54) 77
An even first quarter opened with the hosts hitting the first four points, but the
scores were soon level at 6-
Defences dominated the opening of the second quarter, and neither side could find
the basket for the first four minutes, and with 4 to play in the half it was Northumbria
who held a slight edge, 32-
Durham responded by raising their game as the interval approached, and they took a slender five point cushion into the locker room.
Early fouls on the restart presented Northumbria with opportunities from the line,
but they could convert only 1 of 4, but a spurt by Durham, with Paul Elderkin and
Stephen Jones prominent, brought up the first double-
The hosts responded immediately, to finish the quarter well, and at the final break it was “as you were”, with the margin back to five.
This stung the Wildcats into action, and they dominated the opening of the final
stanza, and Morton, Jones and Trigg all contributed to the 2-
With Durham seemingly in control, Northumbria produced their best spell of the game, with some great outside shooting from Josh Merrington. His three “treys” and a foul shot contributed to twelve unanswered points as the home side pulled back to within a point.
An upset appeared to be on the cards, but Mark Elderkin, Paul & Scott stepped up
again, and the league leaders ensured secured the outcome with a 5 -
It wasn't a comfortable win, and there were signs of tiredness in the Wildcats performance, with only 10 points coming off the usually reliable fast break, but all credit was due to a much improved Northumbria performance. Chris Pearce led the hosts with 22 points, and was well supported by 35 points from the bench (including Merrington with four “3”), while former Wildcat Dave Wintersgill had ten.
Wildcats: Scott Morton 24; Paul Elderkin 20; Steve Jones 12; Mark Elderkin 11; Anthony
Trigg 8; Notis Chalkidis 2; Michael Davies; Tolis Apostolidis; Rafa Vilar-
Northumbria: (leading scorers) Chris Pearce 35; Josh Merrington 13; Dave Wintersgill 10.
EVERYTHING GOES WILDCATS’ WAY!
It was a fantastic weekend for Durham Wildcats, as just about everything that could go their way did so over the two days, as they moved clear at the top of EBL Division 2.
On Saturday Durham overcame a sluggish first half performance to win at Birmingham
University, and then learned that two of their rivals for a top-
Then, in a pulsating match at Newton Aycliffe on Sunday, the Wildcats beat their closest challengers, Brixton Topcats, to move out on their own at the top of the table … and then learned that Westminster had slipped up again.
STRONG THIRD QUARTER SEES WILDCATS SURVIVE AT BIRMINGHAM
Birmingham University (17, 34, 48) 60
Durham Wildcats (17, 29, 63) 75
Durham Wildcats eventually came through a testing encounter against a much improved University of Birmingham, but had to recover from a lacklustre first half performance.
An even opening saw the teams locked together on 17 points apiece at the first break,
but, with Uche Umekwe causing problems under the basket for Durham, the hosts moved
into a 28-
While the Wildcats were struggling to find any rhythm, it was Birmingham who were moving the ball well, defending resolutely, and who appeared hungrier for the ball, and it was they who led by five at the half.
Whatever was said in the locker room it certainly paid dividends, as it was a very
different Wildcats’ team who took the court for the third period, and an early 0-
Birmingham stayed in contention, with Umekwe and Dave Salisbury showing well, but
Morton in particular was in sparkling form for Durham, and a 15 point run by the
visitors took them out to 43-
The advantage peaked at 21, as Wildcats held their hosts to just two points in the
first five minutes of the opening stanza, and at 50-
Wildcats: Scott Morton 32; Paul Elderkin 15; Mark Elderkin 15; Anthony Trigg 7; Steve
Jones 6; Michael Davies; Notis Chalkidis; Tolis Apostolidis; Rafa Vilar-
Birmingham: Uche Umekwe 21; Jake Barr 14; Andy Blakeway 10; Dave Salisbury 6; Ryan
Beeley 5; Lawrie Hall 4; Nick Kitchen; Xabier Marshall-
WILDCATS MOVE CLEAR AT THE TOP
Durham Wildcats (25, 41, 58) 90
Brixton Topcats (19, 42, 64) 75
A remarkable game at Newton Aycliffe proved to be virtually a mirror image of the reverse fixture in Brixton just before Christmas. In that earlier game, Durham led by 21 points with 12 minutes to play, only to suffer a fourth quarter drought as Brixton went on a scoring spree to complete a 26 point turnaround and secure a five point victory.
This time it was Brixton’s turn to lead, by 12, late in the third quarter, and it was Durham who dominated the fourth, as a 27 point turnaround gave them a 15 point success.
Durham showed no signs of the previous days sluggishness as eight points from Scott
Morton helped them into an early 13-
The lead at the break was six, but the Topcats raised their defensive intensity in
the second period, and with Durham beginning to struggle to connect from distance,
it was Stephen Jones who kept them ahead, with six of their first eight points, and
at the mid point of the quarter the lead was still six, 33-
With Wildcats forced to rest key players with foul trouble, and Paul Mundy-
A “trey” apiece from Mark and Paul Elderkin, to keep the margin at one early in the
third gave hope that Wildcats’ outside game was beginning to come good, but Benvido
Garcia stepped up offensively for Brixton as they went on a 1-
The game was becoming increasingly feisty, and as Durham began to haul themselves
back, a loose ball incident resulted in a holding foul being called on Morton, and
an “unsportsmanlike” one on Mundy-
Durham were now beginning to hit top form, and a pair of “3”s bracketing a deuce,
from Paul Elderkin, levelled the game at 66 early in the final stanza, and a further
seven unanswered put the home side ahead, 73-
Brixton’s nerves were beginning to show, as the Wildcats’ defence frustrated them,
and the home side began to gain more success on the offensive boards, and with 4½
minutes to play, and Durham leading by four, Mundy-
Called for a rebounding foul, he responded physically, and the resulting “unsportsmanlike” foul was his fifth offence, which took their most influential player out of the game.
Stephen Jones gratefully sank the two free-
There was still time for the Topcats to haul themselves back into the game, but that chance evaporated with four minutes to play when Avelino Antonio was ejected from the game after leaving Mark Elderkin on the floor clutching his stomach.
This time Mark converted one of the two free-
Garcia grabbed a basket back for Brixton, but an Anthony Trigg dunk restored the
margin. One of two from the stripe by Morton, and a massive Paul Elderkin fast-
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 27; Scott Morton 22; Mark Elderkin 17; Steve Jones 16; Anthony
Trigg 6; Michael Davies 2; Notis Chalkidis; Tolis Apostolidis; Rafa Vilar-
Brixton: Tom Adorian 17; Benvido Garcia 17; Avelino Antonio 15; Paul Mundy-
“That was a great advert for the way we play basketball” exclaimed a delighted coach Dave Elderkin. “we struggled at times, but kept our composure and refused to be knocked out of our stride.
“Outscoring a quality team like Brixton 32-
Not that Elderkin was about to break the habits of a lifetime and allow himself to get carried away. “It’s a great feeling to be out in front at this stage of the season” he said, “and it’s testament to the hard work of the players. However, having done so well to get to this point we must avoid any lapses in intensity – either mental or physical – in the last five games.
“As the last few results have shown there's still time for 'twists and turns', and I want us to see it out by playing the up tempo game we've used all season and not rely on other teams slipping up.”
TOPCATS LOSE GROUND IN THE TITLE RACE
LSBU Brixton Topcats saw their title chances dashed in Durham on Valentine’s Day.
They were beaten 90-
The hosts showed their intent from the start racing out to a 17-
The second quarter saw Antonio come out firing backed up with strong inside play
from Tom Adorian and a run of scoring at the end of the half saw the Topcats take
the lead 42-
The second half started with Brixton taking up the defensive pressure a notch which
caused Durham problems and they began to edge away with 8 points from Ben Garcia,
stretching to a 60-
At the start of the fourth quarter Durham’s Paul Elderkin came out with the hot hand
and hit 13 points straight, including three 3 pointers to take Durham sweeping past
Brixton into a 73-
After the game Powlesland said; ”We put ourselves in a position to win this by being up going into the fourth quarter and we blew it. Yes there were some controversial decisions that didn’t go our way but we need learn to cope and play smarter when we are in these positions. Losing what were arguably our best players on the day midway through the final quarter did not help and the score from this point onwards reflects that. We need to refocus and hope Durham drop some games in the final part of the season.” Top scorers were Garcia with 17, Adorian 17 and Avelino with 15. For Durham Paul Elderkin lead all scorers with 27, Morton 22 and Mark Elderkin 17.
Crusaders split double header
The Medway Park Crusaders beat the NEWI Nets in a close game Saturday and looked poised to move into a playoff spot in the Sunday game against Birmingham A’s, but suffered a heavy defeat as two players fouled out and coach James Vear got ejected, earning him a suspension.
Glyndwr and Birmingham were one and two wins ahead of Crusaders before the weekend, and Coach Vear thought the weekend: "We had spoken all week about this weekend being the most important in the season, with two wins we knew we could really push up the league".
Home Team: Medway Park Crusaders (20, 43, 56) 76 Smith 38; Irving 19; Harris 11
Away Team: Glyndwr Nets (19, 32, 51) 70 Casenove 18; Duppa 14; Herriman 14
Crusaders had lost a close game against the Nets in Wrexham earlier in the year and coach Vear thought it would be a difficult game: "Glyndwr are a very dangerous team with some stand out players like Casenove, Duppa & Baba. We knew they matched up well against us and this would be a tight game"
Glyndwr got off to a very fast start with Duppa’s low post play giving the Crusaders
trouble. The guests were up 8-
At quarter time coach Vear wasn’t happy with the performance: "We knew we had to step up our effort on the defensive end if we wanted to maintain a foothold in this game. 19 points to be scored against you in a quarter is way too many and we had to take them out of their comfort zone. We always say good defensive leads to easy baskets and that what happened in the 2nd quarter."
The Crusaders came out firing in the second and the Nets struggled to stop Brad Smith
who would go on to score 13 points in the quarter. Crusaders went on a 8-
In the third quarter the Nets started strongly behind Casenove’s outside shooting
but was also taking the ball to the basket well. "Casenove was causing us real problems
in the third and we knew we would have to try and get the ball out of his hands”,
said Vear. “He was also excellent on the defensive end and put lots of pressure on
our guards". As a result the Nets continued to claw back the deficit, winning the
quarter 19-
Casenove continued his good play to start the fourth to bring Nets back to within 2 points. Crusaders were looking for some consistency on offense as the Nets were smart on defense and tried to put a lot of pressure on the Crusader guards. This was making it hard for the Medway side to run good offence.
Kalil Irving, the 18 year old up and coming star, stepped up and was having one of his best games of the season as he played point guard for large proportions of the fourth. He stepped up when it looked bleak for Crusaders and scored six unanswered points.
Irvings raids to the basket opened the Nets defence as the youngster’s scoring threat allowed Crusaders to get the ball to Brad Smith, who would go on to have a game high 38 points.
Duppa, who had sat for large portions of the second half with foul trouble, rejoined
the game, and managed to keep the guests within 3-
Coach Vear was happy with the result, but didn’t think it a good game: "The game was far from pretty tonight but it’s always good to win even if you don’t play well. I was happy with some individuals, though. Kalil Irving was excellent and really carried us at times in the fourth".
Birmingham A's (19, 34, 60) 89 Hesson 19; Rolls-
Medway Park Crusaders (16, 26, 51) 69 Harris 18; Lyons 12; Betts 13
Crusaders didn’t celebrate the win against the Nets, knowing they had to travel to Birmingham the next day: "It was good to hear the team straight away look towards the game against Birmingham A's on the Sunday,” said Vear. “We knew we had only done half of the job, and a win against Birmingham was what we needed to look towards. We knew if results went our way and we got a win we could push up to 7th in the league, which would be the first time we had been in a playoff position all year".
Birmingham has had some tough results recently, among them a loss to Birmingham University, but looked to be back on track beating Mansfield by 20 on Saturday. They have some very good young players including Hesson and Tyson who are both GB U20 Internationals.
The game didn’t turn out the way Crusaders wanted, though, as Brad Smith only played 19 minutes before fouling out on a technical foul and Vear later being ejected from the game due to two technical fouls.
Crusaders were down by ten in the third quarter when Brad Smith picked up his fourth foul for a offensive foul, and then immediately was given a technical foul, his fifth and last, for arguing the call. "The referees were calling a very tight game on both sides”, said Vear, “and the frustration got to Brad. He will know in the future he has to curb it"
With the league’s top scorer not returning for the rest of the game it looked like
it would be a tough ask for the Crusaders team but the team looked revitalised. The
team scored 9 unanswered points behind Harris, Lyons and Betts and tied the game
up with 3 minutes remaining in the third. The A's called a timeout and came out strongly
to end the quarter going on a 9-
The A's started the fourth quarter well and extended the lead. With 8 minutes remaining James Vear was ejected from the game for two technical fouls, after expressing his disbelief at a couple of missed calls for both teams, then kicking a chair. "I let my frustration get to me today and let the team down”, confessed Vear after the game. “I knew taking over the job midway through the season it would be a steep learning curve and I learnt a lot today. I will continue to work hard with the team to get them ready for a big game against Westminster next weekend"
After the loss of league top scorer Smith and coach Vear the A's really pilled on
the pressure to eventually pull away to a 89 -
Birmingham had come out firing from the start of the game, scoring the first 6 points
from the outside. Crusaders struggled to keep up with the A's fast tempo and the
A's extended their lead to 12-
Coach Vear said: "We just didn’t turn up in the first five minutes and we looked a bit shocked. Once we calmed down, ran offense and took away the A's fast break we managed to claw the deficit back”.
The quarter ended 19-
The A's started the second quarter well, as Hesson’s quickness gave Crusaders real problems in transition. "Hesson got out on the break very well throughout the game”, said Vear, “and he finishes so well around the basket. We also didn't do a good job boxing out and the A's got various put backs in the first half". Once again when the Crusaders settled down they played well with Betts and Currant both connecting with back to back threes to cut the lead to 6.
The 2nd Quarter was a scrappy one with neither team getting a hold on the game, both
teams were struggling with the game being called tightly by the referees which was
frustrating both coaches. The Crusaders were down 34 -
The start of the third would continue to be scrappy with neither team having much
consistency on offense. The A's did go on a 7 -
Looking back Vear was frustrated with the game, but pointed the finger towards himself and his team: "Today we didn’t play well as a team and know we need to work hard if we want to be successful. Although the refereeing was frustrating at times it had no reflection on the game and the A's definitely deserved the win"
Coach Vear will be expecting a suspension from England Basketball, the length of which is still to be determined.
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes for Mansfield in National League Division 2 as
they went down 66-
With the Giants going into the weekend once more without the services of their inside triumvirate of Ben Coy, Eric Milambo and Dave Passmore through injury and work commitments respectively, it was always going to be a tough task against the bigger and stronger Birmingham A’s.
Surprisingly the A’s had lost 6 straight and slipped to 8th in the table prior to this encounter, but make no mistake they are a talented unit who, when they click, are capable of beating anyone in the league.
Their run of bad form was going to end sooner or later and the short-
Talented youngster Myles Hesson, who did so much damage to their Giants in their home loss, opened the scoring with 2 free throws in the first minute to give Birmingham a lead they would not relinquish the whole match.
The Giants, and particularly Dan Watts and Mathew Martin, battled valiantly against the boards but the A’s repeatedly had 2 or 3 attempts down the court as they used their superior height advantage to good effect.
Birmingham steadily nurtured their lead and when the first quarter came to a halt
they enjoyed a 9 point advantage having taken the period 23-
The Giants did put up a more spirited fight on the offensive end in the 2nd quarter,
with Martin scoring 9 points, but Birmingham were still able to extend their lead
slightly and went into the half time break 47-
Any lingering hopes the Giants maintained of winning the game were quickly dashed
as the A’s restricted Mansfield to only 4 points in the first 5 minutes of the 3rd
quarter, whilst Birmingham extended their lead to 20. A hatrick of 3 pointers completed
Birmingham’s scoring in the period which ended 75-
Whilst the game was effectively over as a contest Mansfield still had pride to play
for and did manage to shave 8 points off the deficit by taking the final period by
16-
Scorers against Birmingham A’s: Watts 19, Martin 19, Ciesla 13, Elland 6, Richards 6, Kelly 3
The good thing for the Giants about having a fixture the next day was it gave them an immediate chance to erase some of the pain of the previous days defeat.
It was against a rapidly improving University of Birmingham who had won 2 out of their last 4, including a midweek win over the team which beat Mansfield comfortably on Saturday, and had ran league favourites Durham close the previous night.
There was to be no slow start for the Giants this time. They shot out of the blocks. Mansfield scored the first 14 points of the game, with Martin contributing 7 and Watts 4. Birmingham had little to reply with. The Giants were swarming everywhere on defence, forcing numerous turnovers and poor shot attempts from the visitors as they held them scoreless for the first 5 minutes.
Jake Barr finally broke the drought for the visitors but when Watts, who was rebounding
outstandingly under his own basket, scored the last 5 points of the quarter Mansfield
were leading 21-
The Giants were in no mood to let their opponents have a sniff of getting back into the game and point guard Tom Griffiths and Paul Kelly quickly extended the lead at the start of the second period before Mathew Martin scored the next 8 Giants points.
It was high octane basketball from the Mansfield who were moving the ball around as good as they have all season. They were also winning the 50/50 balls which they failed to do the night before.
Mike Elland was next to go on a personal mini scoring run as he scored 7 straight points including 2 fast breaks lay ups triggered by excellent Dan Watts outlet passes. Rookie Sheraz Hussain rounded off the scoring as he left the bench to net the final 4 points of the quarter.
Whatever Pete Mintoff said to his Birmingham team at half time seemed to do the trick as they came out on fire in the 2nd half. The University side scored 10 straight points which included 2 Jake Barr 3 point attempts.
A Giants timeout was swiftly called and it appeared to do the trick as Martin hit a 3 pointer on the resumption of play. It was to prove short lived however as both teams then failed to trouble the score keepers for the next 3 minutes.
The 3rd quarter was to end as the 1st quarter began, with some of the best basketball
of the night. Mansfield went on a 19-
Michal Ciesla gave the home team their biggest margin of the night, at 32 points, in the 3rd minute of the final period as he converted a 3 point play but after that Mansfield switched off somewhat effort wise.
Sure the game was over as a contest but they didn’t seem to want to put in the same
fight as they had earlier. The Student visitors, with the shackles removed, found
lots more space to shoot and outscored Mansfield 11-
Scorers against Birmingham uni: Martin 21, Watts 15, Ciesla 14, Elland 13, Richards 6, Hussain 4, Griffiths 3, Kelly 2
Topcats continue their league form.
LSBU Brixton Topcats made the long journey down to Plymouth at the weekend, knowing only a win would be good enough to continue in their push for the National League Division Two title. They travelled with a full strength squad with injured players returning and available for selection for this crucial game. Head Coach Andy Powlesland had focussed the players on winning and using this game as a platform to prepare for next week’s top of the table clash away at Durham Wildcats.
Brixton started in a pressure man to man defense and raced out to an 11-
Anebo continued this form at the start of the second period with 7 early points as
Brixton re-
Plymouth had their chances to close the gap at the end of the third but missed 5 consecutive fouls shot and with it their chance of the game.
The fourth quarter saw the gap of 12 points between the two teams maintained, with
Avelino Antonio being the main scorer for Brixton in this quarter with six points
to add to his individual tally. The game finished 83-
Andy Powlesland was pleased with the effort but conceded that if was too tight at times and the team would need to be more focussed on doing the simple stuff well; “On the positive side we got into foul trouble today and the bench came through and gave a good account of itself. Omirin came in and added to the scoring as did Avelino. But we shot 46% from the foul line and had 22 turnovers and this just is not good enough. Anebo was the stand out guy today and we go forward to next week’s game with some momentum, for the long trip up to Durham on Valentine’s Day.”
Top scorers for LSBU Brixton Topcats were Anebo 18, Antonio 16, & Mundy-
WILDCATS’ A+ AGAINST THE As
Durham Wildcats (21, 41, 65) 74
Birmingham As (14, 29, 38) 51
Durham Wildcats stayed top of Division Two, despite victories by their four closest rivals, as an emphatic third quarter saw them coast to victory over Birmingham As.
Birmingham opened brightly, with Josh Rolls-
From 18-
Miles Hesson and Piotr Stankewicz helped the visitors close to 26-
As so often this season, the third quarter proved decisive, as the Wildcats once
again cranked up the defensive pressure and put together ten unanswered points to
break the game open at 56-
With the prospect of an crucial game to come the next day, coach Dave Elderkin took the opportunity to run the majority of the final stanza with just one starting player at a time on court and the supporting players relished the extended court time.
This inevitably reduced the offensive potency of the Wildcats’ play, but with Anthony Trigg and Notis Chalkidis working well inside they still stretched the lead to thirty points before easing up in the final two minutes for a comfortable 23 point victory.
Rolls-
Paul Elderkin led all scorers, with 25, all scored in the first three quarters, and Michael Davies showed a welcome return of confidence, with 13. Scott Morton’s 12 included three “3”s, and his usual defensive hussle and range of passing skills were well in evidence.
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 25; Michael Davies 13; Scott Morton 12; Notis Chalkidis 10;
Mark Elderkin 6; Anthony Trigg 5; Rafa Vilar-
Birmingham: Josh Rolls-
Coach Dave Elderkin was pleased by the result, but still had some concerns over aspects
of the game. “We played far too much as individuals before half-
“They took heed in the third quarter, and it showed in a much better performance that clinched the result, and meant that we were able to rest key players ready for tomorrow’s Cup game.
“Next week, against our main title rivals, we’ll have to concentrate on that teamwork consistently for four quarters, and not just for one.”
WILDCATS HANG TOUGH TO GO BACK TO THE TOP
Durham Wildcats won back to back league games over the weekend, which took them back
to the top of the table. They completed the home and away “double”, at title rivals
Mansfield Giants in a hard-
To enhance the Wildcats’ enjoyment of the weekend, two more of their top five rivals lost ground, with only Brixton Topcats keeping pace with them.
Mansfield Giants (15, 35, 54) 78
Durham Wildcats (13, 41, 60) 87
Durham Wildcats beat their old rivals the hard way, with a poor first half performance, in which they lost captain Mark Elderkin to a gashed forehead, and a better showing in a highly competitive second half which ended with top scorer Paul Elderkin hobbling on a twisted ankle.
Strong defence by both sides dominated the opening exchanges, as the sides tested each other out and it was over two minutes before the first score, as Dan Watts drained a “3” for the hosts, and another 45 seconds before Scott Morton levelled from the same distance. That set the tone for the first quarter, with never more than 4 points between the teams, and Mansfield holding a 2 point cushion at the break.
The Giants threatened to break away at the start of the second, as a Michael Elland
“3” began an 11-
The Wildcats adjusted their defence to a 2-
The margin was just four points between the teams, with under 1½ minutes to the interval,
when Durham’s most influential player so far, captain Mark Elderkin, collided with
a team-
As Mark was led off to have his wound bandaged there was every possibility that his
team-
The third quarter was much more open, and showed a much more fluent performance from the Wildcats, with the support players stepping up well to fill the void left by Mark’s absence.
Jones opened with another “trey”, and an allez-
Tolis Apostolidis opened the final phase with a “3”, and fellow Greek Notis Chalkidis
hit an “and 1” to give the Wildcats their biggest lead of the game at 54-
That seemed to give the hosts renewed hope, and a 12-
Anthony Trigg stopped the surge, as he scored, wide open inside, off a pinpoint Morton
assist, and in the final two minutes Durham showed their true class. Preventing Mansfield
from replying, Scott Morton then ran 22 seconds off the 24 second shot-
At 77-
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 23; Scott Morton 22; Steve Jones 15; Mark Elderkin 8; Anthony
Trigg 8; Notis Chalkidis 6; Tolis Apostolidis 3; Rafa Vilar-
Mansfield: Dan Watts 24; Mathew Martin 19; Daniel Richards 10; Paul Kelly 9; Michal Ciesla 8; Michael Elland 6; Dave Passmore 2; Aaron White; Sheraz Hussein [dnp]; Ben Coy [dnp]..
“That was a massive win, and a really gutsy performance” commented coach Dave Elderkin.
“We didn’t perform in the first half, and then lost our best player, but we really
stepped up after that. They outfought us 24-
“The shooting performance was excellent. We hit 16 “3”s, at 46%, which is top quality in any division; Paul had 6 of those, from 11 attempts, and Scott hit a phenomenal 6 of 9.
“The other big factor was the performance of the supporting players. They’ve come in for some criticism in the past few weeks, but today they all stepped up and really helped to make the difference.”
Durham Wildcats (26, 56, 74) 100
Glyndwr Nets (13, 29, 47) 70
Concerns over the fitness of Mark Elderkin, who had been at hospital in Mansfield until midnight having his wound stitched, and Paul Elderkin, whose ankle was very sore, were quickly dispelled as they declared themselves fit to face the visitors from North Wales.
The brothers’ optimism proved to be fully justifed, as Paul Elderkin led all scorers with 29 points, and Mark hit 18 as the Wildcats surged to a big win.
Alan Duppa opened the scoring to give Glyndwr their only lead of the night, but the
next twelve point put Durham in control, with a ten point lead after just four minutes.
That was extended to 26-
Casenove and Alan Duppa helped the Nets back to within 11 early in the second, but
an 11-
With all nine players recording points, Durham were able to keep their guests at arms length throughout the second half, for a comfortable 30 point victory.
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 29; Mark Elderkin 18; Anthony Trigg 14; Scott Morton 12;
Steve Jones 12; Notis Chalkidis 6; Michael Davies 4; Rafa Vilar-
Glyndwr: Max Casenove 20; Alan Duppa 16; Usma Baba 13; Delme Herriman 7; Anthony Woods 7; Arnas Luitkus 2; Maarten Wijdjekop 2; Matt Weedall 2.
“We worked very hard today on our defence against Delme Herriman, as we saw the ex-
“Casenove gave us a hard time, with his outside shooting, but we performed well as
a team, and we had a strong running game. After last night’s shoot-
“With Edmonton losing this weekend, and Westminster going down at Brixton, it was a very satisfying weekend all round. However, there’s still 40% of the season to go, and we’re not getting carried away. That said, we’re delighted to be going into those last eight games in a strong position.”
BRIXTON COMPLETE THE DOUBLE OVER WESTMINSTER
On last day of the month in front of a packed crowd at Brixton Recreation Centre, LSBU Brixton Topcats hosted their closest rivals the Westminster Warriors.
Having won the BUCS Southern Premier League at Oxford University on Wednesday, the Topcats were back to business in the National League. Head Coach Andy Powlesland said, ‘Winning the student league was great for London South Bank University, and winning today against Westminster will be a big step in making the league double a possibility.
‘The first silverware of the season is a good indicator that the partnership is working and hopefully there is more to come.’
Westminster won the jump ball and the first two minutes of the game were a scrappy
affair and the game remained scoreless until Jon Johnson hit a three for Westminster.
This was quickly added to by six points from Yannick Bulawbwe, as the Warriors raced
out to an early 11-
Johnson came out and hit back-
Johnson came out storming again, scoring seven quick points at the start of the third
period including his fifth three-
This left the score going into the final period at 53-
Five, quick unanswered points from Mundy-
Powlesland said, ‘We did not execute well today, our floor shooting percentage was terrible, as were our foul shots. With good inside play and some heart, we still came through to win.
‘When you play badly and still beat your nearest rivals then it shows the mark of
a good team. We have now done the double over Westminster and put them a game back.
Avelino was the spark today backed up by Adorian and Mundy-
Top scorers were Avelino with 16, Adorian with 16 and Mundy-
Crusaders take third win in five matches
Medway Park Crusaders (21, 35, 62) 77 Smith 35; Betts 17; Irving 9
Edmonton Storm (15, 33, 41) 65 Henry-
Medway Park Crusaders used their much improved defence to surprise fifth place Edmonton at home in Medway on Saturday. The team has shown great improvement on the defensive end, as witnessed by Crusaders holding the Storm to only 41 points over the first three quarters.
Coach James Vear seems to have turned the Crusaders’ fortunes around as they have now picked up three win in five matches. The only losses since Vear took over have come against top teams Durham and Brixton, while two of the wins have come against playoff teams.
The visitors got the first basket of the game behind new signing, ex-
Edmonton were not about to lie down, though, and started slowly clawing their way
back as Crusaders offence slowed down. At quarter time Crusaders were up 21-
From the start of the second half Crusaders blitzed the Storm as Betts hit his third
three pointer of the game. Edmonton got three points back, but from then Crusaders
went on a 24-
For the first five minutes of the fourth quarter the win seemed secure as Crusaders
built the lead to 68-
Coach Vear was happy with the result: “The team came out tonight and set the tempo from the very start. We knew Edmonton were very talented especially as they had picked up a no of players over the past few months. They would want to push the pace but we did a great job of controlling the tempo the entire game.”
Crusaders are now starting to look up in the table to make a push for the playoffs. Betts said: “Big win at home against a very talented and athletic team. We need to make a push now to get into playoff position by continuing to improve as individuals and more importantly as a team”
Coach Vear echoed the captain’s thoughts: “We are not happy with where we are in the league and want to start putting some pressure on the teams above us. The whole team have really bought in to the way I want them to play and this is starting to reflect in the way we are playing.”
TOPCATS WIN IN WALES
On Saturday LSBU Brixton Topcats made the long road trip to North Wales to play Glyndwr Nets in the reverse fixture of their opening league game of the season.
The Topcats lead National League Division 2, whilst their opponents sit mid table. Head Coach Andy Powlesland said;”this is the start of a very important period for us. Glyndwr have a very good home record and the last two seasons have showed that we don’t seem to play well in Wales when we have lost to both Glamorgan and Cardiff away from home, so this game in Wrexham will be tough. On Wednesday we visit Oxford University to try to win the BUCS Premier League title for the first time, followed by Westminster Warriors at home on the weekend and then two long road trips to Plymouth and Durham respectively. These next three weeks are crucial and will certainly have a big bearing on how the rest of the season goes for LSBU Brixton Topcats.”
The game started well enough for the Topcats led by centre Tom Adorian, who hit a
massive 15 points in a tight first quarter that finished 23-
Topcats started the second quarter a bit more up-
The second half saw an electric start for Brixton with three consecutive 3 point
shots from Topcats, a pair from Paul Mundy-
With the score going into the final 49-
Powlesland; “We did well today as this is a tough place to come and win. We were in front most of the game and our defence was good, restricting their best player to just 10 points. With Adorian, Lewis and Garcia we controlled the boards at both ends and our outside players shot well. It all bodes well for next week’s big match up against Westminster.”
Top scorers were Adorian 25, Mundy-
WILDCATS SURVIVE TOUGH TEST
Durham Wildcats (23, 34, 46) 69
Medway Park Crusaders (11, 29, 36) 50
Durham Wildcats maintained their challenge at the top of EBL Division 2 with a home
win on Saturday against a determined and well-
The visitors began strongly, with a defensive intensity that kept their hosts in
check, and six points from Canadian centre Brad Smith helped them to a 6-
The home side failed to build on that advantage in the second period, however, as
both teams’ defences dominated proceedings, and Medway Park steadily edged back into
contention, with Andy Chiguiri contributing eight points. Just five points separated
the teams going into the half-
The first four points on the restart hauled the Crusaders back to within a point,
at 34-
At last, captain Mark Elderkin sparked a Durham surge to close the quarter, as he
hit a long 3-
Smith was still causing problems close to the basket, however, and his five points
early in the fourth quarter were capped by a “trey” by James Harris which opened
the game up again, at 50-
This time it was Stephen Jones who stepped up to kick-
The final 19 point margin did not truly reflect the strong showing by the visitors, but while both defences played a significant role, and both sides struggled to score for long spells, the Wildcats always looked as though they were the ones who could put on a spurt, and so it proved in the end.
While Smith had a game-
Five other Wildcats contributed points, and Michael Davies took three steals in a strong defensive display..
Wildcats: Scott Morton 21; Paul Elderkin 19; Steve Jones 12; Mark Elderkin 7; Notis
Chalkidis 4; Anthony Trigg 2; Rafa Vilar-
Medway Park: Brad Smith 22; Damian Lyons 10; Andy Chiguiri 8; James Harris 6; JP Dimandja 4; Sam Betts; Jeff Wadey.
“We knew it wouldn’t be an easy game, after our experience in the reverse fixture, when we struggled for long spells” said coach Dave Elderkin, “and they made it difficult for us again.
“We played well in the first quarter, but lost our way for most of the second and
part of the third, as we lost our focus. I had to re-
WILDCATS RETURN TO WINNING WAYS IN STYLE
Durham Wildcats (30, 62, 80) 109
Plymouth Marjon (22, 36, 60) 75
With leaders Brixton losing to Edmonton on Saturday night, and Westminster and Mansfield
both winning, the Wildcats went into Sunday’s game knowing they could afford no slip
ups in what is now a five-
Durham began confidently, with Scott Morton contributing the first five points of
a 7-
Anthony Trigg contributed six points early in the second period, but the Wildcats
were showing signs of match-
A “trey” from captain Mark Elderkin began the spurt in the last five minutes of the half, and with Scott Morton and Steven Jones outstanding Durham surged away to lead by 26 at the break. Only Peake and Adam Hatchell were able to find the basket for Marjon during this spell.
With the score at 70-
The bench players responded with the first seven points of the final stanza, for
an 87-
Paul Elderkin had four “3”s and two dunks on his way to a game-
Wildcats: Paul Elderkin 33; Scott Morton 22; Steve Jones 17; Anthony Trigg 8; Mark
Elderkin 6; Rafa Vilar-
Plymouth: Adam Hatchell 17; Mark Gilbard 15; John Peake 13; Russell Martin 6; David Hickson 6; Matthew Peard 6; Henry Spring 5; Luke Pollard 4; Sean Porter 3.
Giants cruise to victory over Plymouth
Mansfield Giants 103 – Plymouth Marjon 84
Mansfield secured their third consecutive victory in England Basketball League Division 2 to stay within touching distance of the league leaders.
The Giants went into the game against second to bottom Plymouth Marjon without the services of their 3 post players due to injury or illness. Centre Ben Coy being the latest player to succumb to injury after hurting his calf in training on Thursday.
Coy’s absence meant that point guard Tom Griffith was promoted to the starting line up with the Giants opting for a smaller, quicker, line up alongside Dan Richards, Michal Ciesla, Dan Watts and Mathew Martin.
Plymouth came into the game having had a seriously poor start to the season by their standards, with only 1 win from 8 league games. The Giants coaching staff were anxious not to underestimate their opponents though. A number of the Plymouth losses had been by narrow margins against some of the leagues best teams and the team had the potential to cause an upset on any given night.
The first quarter was a closely fought contest. Mansfield made the early running
and were scoring freely on offence, but defensively the intensity was nowhere near
as high as it should have been, and Plymouth were replying almost every time the
Giants scored. Coach Dan Richards scored 10 of his 15 points in the period as Plymouth
struggled to contain his combination of outside shooting and drives to the basket.
At the other end of the court it was stand-
It was Mansfield who held the advantage when the buzzer signalled the end to the quarter with a 4 point lead at 26 – 22.
Michal Ciesla scored the first 5 points to start the second quarter to open up a
9 point gap, and it appeared that the Giants were slowly inching away from Plymouth.
Again though, Mansfield switched off mentally and 10 unanswered points saw the visitors
retake the lead at 31-
After this it was the turn of Ciesla to take the game to Plymouth. He scored 10
of the Giants next 15 points. The Marjon’s had little in reply and when Mike Elland
scored 5 quick points in the 8th minute Mansfield were enjoying the luxury of a 15
point advantage. Plymouth did manage to hold the Giants scoreless for the final
2 minutes of the half, but only managed 3 free throws in reply, so it was the home
team who were the happier at the break with the scores 55-
If the first quarter belonged to Richards, and the second to Ciesla, then the third was surely owned by Mathew Martin. He blitzed his way to 12 points, including two 3 pointers in a little under 5 minutes. Assisted by 7 points from Dan Watts and 4 from Tom Griffiths the Giants opened up a 20 point lead and probably end any thoughts Plymouth might have held onto, of winning the game.
Marjon centre John Peake was the only player to find the basket with any regularity in the 3rd quarter for the visitors, as he took advantage of the Giants lack of height, to score 8 points. 2 Mark Gillbard free throws and baskets from Matt Peard and Adam Hatchell briefly cut the deficit to 14 points, before Paul Kelly scored the final 5 points, in the last minute, to stretch the lead back out to 19.
The 4th quarter was a largely eventless affair. There was no way the Giants were going to surrender an ever increasing lead that at one point grew to 31 points. Alex Denholm with 2 big blocks and Arron White calmly slotting 2 free throws to bring up 100 points, for the first time at home this season, were the highlights.
Cielsa contributed another 9 points in an 11-
Plymouth did manage to score the last 12 points of the contest as they held Mansfield
scoreless for the final 4 ½ minutes and the final score ended 103-
The win means that Mansfield remain in 4th place in the league having recorded 7 wins and 3 losses, and sit closely behind Brixton, Durham, and Westminster who have all lost 2. The Giants now have a free weekend before they take on Durham in their next encounter at Oak Tree Leisure Centre on 30th January at 6 pm.
Giants scorers: Ciesla 27, Martin 21, Watts 15, Richards 15, Kelly 13, Griffiths 5, Elland 5, White 2
Marjon scorers: Peard 16, Gillbard 15, Peake 14, Spring 12, Hatchell 9, Porter 7, Hickson 7, Pollard 4
Mixed Results for Topcats
After an extended Christmas break due to the weather, LSBU Brixton Topcats went into a double header weekend, firstly away at London rivals Edmonton Storm on Saturday and then home to Team Northumbria on Sunday. Having finished 2009 on top of Division Two, LSBU Brixton Topcats started the New Year one game clear of their nearest rival and with a better points’ difference.
Edmonton Storm had a strong squad, complete with three new signings to bolster their
challenge for promotion to Division One. Edmonton started the game very well with
new signing from London Met, Mansour Mbye, quickly getting on the score sheet to
cancel out Paul Mundy-
The second quarter was a similar story with Mundy-
The game was won in the third quarter, as the Topcats’ scoring rate dipped, as they
missed easy lay-
The Topcats came out hard in the final period, and soon tied the game at 67-
Head Coach Andy Powlesland said, ‘It’s disappointing to lead the league by one game and give it straight back in our first game of 2010.
‘We never really got going and our inability to score in the third quarter really
cost us. Too many missed layups shows that the team are not as sharp as they should
be. As league leaders, we were a scalp for Edmonton-
Top scorers for Topcats were Paul Mundy-
Sunday saw Team Northumbria visit Brixton Recreation Centre, with a University-
The game started very slowly with both teams failing to convert on numerous attempts
and only one successful three pointer total in the quarter coming from Northumbria’s
Ian Berry. The score at the end of the first was 13-
The second quarter was a much better basketball spectacle with both teams now scoring
more freely with the conversion rate up to more respectable levels. Paul Mundy-
Northumbria started the second half in good form and found their three-
The fourth quarter saw the Topcats break the game with six quick points from Garcia,
including a thunderous base line dunk which had the crowd on their feet, and some
further good inside interplay for easy baskets. Northumbria rallied briefly with
three consecutive three-
Club owner Jimmy Rogers said, ‘We woke up in the second half and played some good basketball. Ben Garcia was great and eventually the team chemistry returned.’
Head coach Andy Powlesland added, ‘We made hard work of the game, but we came out winners in the end. I just wish I could have had that type of fighting performance yesterday.’
LSBU Brixton Topcats still lead the league but now only on basket difference and have an identical record to Durham Wildcats and Westminster Warriors.
Topcats top scorers were Paul Mundy-
Crusaders win again
Medway Park Crusaders 24, 37, 63, 75 (Smith 29; Lyons 14; Dimanja 11)
Team Northumbria 14, 27, 45, 61 (Pearce 20)
New Medway Park Crusaders coach James Vear saw his team take their second win in
three games Saturday as they took care of the visiting Team Northumbria 75-
Northumbria played their first game without dominant 6’8’’ big man Nils Steuber who
has returned to Germany, and Crusaders took advantage of the Northerners lack of
size. Crusaders started the game getting the ball inside to Brad Smith time and again,
while in the other end they made good defensive stands. Smith scored eight points,
including a thunderous dunk, as Crusaders ran out a 13-
The visitors tried to get back into the game through their star Chris Pearce who scored 6 points in the first quarter, but the Crusaders’ defence were able to stop his teammates who could only manage 8 points before the first interval.
In what became a trend of the game Northumbria stepped up their aggressiveness, playing full court press and physical defence to try and counter the Crusaders onslaught, but on the night it only resulted in sending the home team to the free throw line eight times in the first quarter and 35 times in the whole match.
Leading 24-
Chris Pearce cut the Crusader lead to eight with the first basket of the second half,
but from there Crusaders never looked back, building the lead to 26 points behind
great defence which kept the visitors to six points for the first almost eight minutes
of the quarter. Up 59-
The fourth quarter was much like the third as Crusaders kept the visitors to only
four points over the first seven minutes. As the home side only scored nine points
in the same interval the 72-
Coach Vear was happy with the win and the effort: "We realised that this was a must win game if we wanted to push on up the league in the second half of the season. We have really concentrated on the defensive end over the past month and been looking at playing it for a full 40min. Tonight's game was as close as we have been to that all season"
After the game young star Kalil Irving said: “We will keep working to make it hard for other teams to have an easy time. The defence that we have been working on the entire time has paid off”.